Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman Emphasizes Meaning of Rivalry Win Against USC Trojans

The No. 20 USC Trojans and coach Lincoln Riley suffered their second loss of the season. The No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Trojans, 34-24. After the game, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman expressed what the win against a rival means.

Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman walks into practice Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend. | Austin Hough / South Bend Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

The No. 20 USC Trojans suffered their second loss of the season against the No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 34-24. It was a close game in a tough environment, but USC coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans could not get the job done.

After the game, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman addressed the media and expressed what winning against a rival meant to him.

“You remember rivalry games. I remember my rivalry games from pee-wee to high school to college and the ones I’ve been a part of as a coach. They just, those are games that mean more, and you remember, obviously, the outcome, but hopefully remember some things you did in that game that led to the outcome,” Freeman said.

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman during a game against the Southern California Trojans at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“They mean just a little bit more because of what it represents for your university. What it represents for your fans, the players before us, and the players to come. And I reminded our guys of the responsibility we have to go perform the way we did.”

“You gotta be grateful for these things because if you’re not, man, this is the reward for a lot of hard work. And then tomorrow, this reward goes away,” Freeman said. “If you don’t enjoy this team glory, that’s what I call it, then it’s a miserable existence being a football player or a coach. And so we have to make sure we enjoy it.”

“And yes, because it’s a huge game, a great opponent, a rivalry, but also because you know what, we put a lot of work into achieving this result,” Freeman said.

Freeman Highlights Tough Win

Oct 4, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman adjusts his radio against the Boise State Broncos at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

“I told them in the locker room the effort they give to this football program to give them a chance to have that type of outcome. And that’s what it’s about. It’s about sacrificing,” Freeman said. “It was a struggle, as I told them it would be, versus a good opponent. But they continued to be reliant. They continue to run the football, be opportunistic on defense, and create some turnovers in the second half.”

“Big victory over a really good program and one that lasts for two weeks around here. So, we’re going to enjoy it.”

Freeman On Beating USC In The Trenches

USC running back King Miller finished the game with 18 carries for 70 yards. Notre Dame worked to shut down the run game, which helped lead to a Fighting Irish win.

“That’s our foundation. That’s who we have to be,” Freeman said about having a strong offensive and defensive line. “The moment wasn’t too big.”

“You’re not rushing for those types of yards unless you got o-lineman blocking. And our defense, we challenged them to say, ‘Let’s make them one-dimensional, right? We can’t let them run the ball at will and throw the ball at will.’ And that’s what they’ve been doing. And for the most part, we stopped them in the run game.”

MORE: What Advanced Analytics Say About USC vs. Notre Dame Matchup

MORE: USC's Lincoln Riley Reveals Opinion on Future Rivalry Games vs. Notre Dame

MORE: Three Keys for USC Trojans to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive Against Notre Dame

“Obviously, they had some passes, and that was the challenge. Like, let’s make them one-dimensional, and they were probably okay with us making them one-dimensional. And they had some success, but our guys kept battling, and they kept battling, and that’s what it takes to have success.”

Oct 18, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) drops back to throw the ball in the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

“The rain helped it create that type of game that it was going to be O-Line, D-Line driven game. It was going to be won in the trenches. We weren’t going to be able to throw the ball a lot in the second half because of the moisture and the weather. And that’s what we want,” Freeman said.

“Part of it was the style of play, right? And part of it was thematically trying to say, ‘Okay, hey, we’re going to try to put an extra guy in the box and maybe play some one high defense and force him to throw the ball.’ I think there was both that contributed to that.”

“Don played huge. It was good to see him step up and do some things in the run, in the pass game, force a fumble,” Freeman said. “Luke had a big game-winning interception at the end of the game.”

Notre Dame’s Kick Return Touchdown

Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price, right, runs with the ball on his way to score a touchdown in the first half of a NCAA football game against Southern California at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the third quarter of the game, the USC Trojans led the matchup, 24-21. Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price returned the kickoff for a 101-yard touchdown, giving the Fighting Irish the lead and shifting the momentum.

“It was huge,” Freeman said. “We were down cause they converted two-point conversion. So they got all the momentum. They’re up three points, and for JD, I mean, it’s another version of Deja Vu from two years ago.”

“For him to take that touchdown back, Christian to really reciprocate kind of what happened last year, man, it’s sometimes you go, there’s a higher calling in all this man, but I’m just proud of him. That was a huge play for this team.”

Freeman Emphasizes Importance Of Stopping Makai Lemon

Oct 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) takes the ball on a kickoff return in the second half against the Michigan Wolverines at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

USC wide receiver Makai Lemon is having a big year with the Trojans. One of the most anticipated aspects of the game was how Lemon would shape up against Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore.

“We knew we couldn’t let Lemon beat us. Just him by himself. That was, every week you come up with keys to victory, right? The first key to victory was we got to be plus two in a turnover margin. Bam, we got it. The second one was we got to crush the run game. We got to stop the run game. We didn’t crush it, but we did a good job there. The third thing was we got to eliminate number six.”

“We said, okay, there’s going to be times we have to put our best defender on him, and we did that. But people would say, 'Why don’t you just do that every week?’ because there’s pro and cons, because when he’s not on him, it’s like okay, are they playing zone,” Freeman said. “So, you kind of tell the offense what you’re doing until you expand the package.”

Lemon finished the game with just four receptions for 76 yards. Wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane had a strong performance with six receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava finished the game going 22-of-42 for 328 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

USC will enter its second bye week with a 5-2 record ahead of the final stretch of the regular season.